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PANTHER PROWLER Friday November 21, 2014 Issue IV Newbury Park High School
456 N. Reino Rd., Newbury Park, CA 91320
WASC takes the school by swarm Daulton Beck Features Editor Sam Ellison Sports Editor The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) was on campus from Nov. 16-19 to visit classrooms as well as meet with students, parents, and staff members. As one of six regional accrediting associations, WASC evaluates more than 4,500 high schools to determine if they are “trustworthy institutions of learning,” according to its website. In other words, WASC determines whether or not high school diplomas are valid. In order to prepare for the visit, Karen Kikuchi, math teacher and the school’s WASC coordinator, led a selfstudy process that has taken place over the past year. “Starting last fall, we asked ourselves: what is the school doing well, and what are the areas of improvement?” Kikuchi said. “Based on the areas of improvement, we created the school action plan.” The staff will work to implement this action plan over the next few years. The first goal of the plan is to successfully implement Common Core, which will replace California Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) in the spring of 2015. In addition, the staff will be working to integrate more technology into classroom instruction. Lastly, the action plan includes provisions to increase support for students and encourage them to utilize resources the school already offers, including counseling and
clubs. Linda Saeta, visiting WASC evaluator and Claremont High School math teacher, spent her time on campus evaluating the student culture. “I’ve been very impressed … the pride that the students and teachers have comes through strong,” she said. Saeta is responsible for writing a report on her findings, including what the school is doing well and what it can do better. This will be combined with those of the other evaluators to create a comprehensive profile of the school that will be available in three to five months. The evaluation process is categorized into five separate criteria: organization; curriculum; instruction; assessment and accountability; and support for personal and academic growth of students. The WASC evaluators shared their observations in the Performing Arts Center during lunch on Nov. 19. Overall, the evaluators agreed that teachers should develop an effective system for studying student performance data. Also, the assessors added that the teaching curriculum should align with the Common Core standards. “The biggest thing was they talked about how much pride we have as a school, how successful our school is, and how great our students are,” Principal Josh Eby said. “That’s just the best feeling to have as a principal.”
Show off your stuff- Discussing academic pursuits, the campus environment, and possible improvements to be made, the WASC evaluators met with students during lunch on Nov. 17. In about five months, the results of the evaluation process will be made public. Samantha Meyer/Prowler
A WORK IN PROGRESS
ASG works to update school constitution
Rachna Deshpande Staff Writer
Looking ahead- Carly Adams, dean of activities, addresses ASG during their Constitutional Convention as they discuss possible changes that could be made this year. Samantha Meyer/Prowler
For the past three weeks, the Associated Student Government (ASG) has been meeting to revise the Associated Student Body’s (ASB) current constitution. The constitution is drafted and enforced by ASG, but applies to the entirety of the school. Discussion has focused around topics such as requirements to be a member of the ASG class, what standards ASG is responsible for upholding, and the structure of elections. “We have only begun recently … but we are definitely adding on sections and articles to accommodate for changes in our ASG class,” said Justin Kawaguchi, sophomore and ASG member. “One thing that we’ve added is descriptions of each of the ASG commissions so that the student body can fully understand what we do every morning to plan events for the school,” said Kawaguchi. Every year, ASG changes the constitution in order to keep it up-to-date and relevant. This year, ASG is “focusing on the roles of the ASG members, students, and administration,” to balance out the three branches, according to Steven Owens, sophomore. In comparison to the constitutions in years previous, it will “follow a similar structure but will be much more updated and easier to navigate,” Kawaguchi said. Sam
Klein, sophomore, added that while the new constitution resembles club constitutions, it is longer, and covers a broader spectrum. Once it is finished, Owens says the constitution will also include changes to rules regarding clubs and interest groups to “help separate what clubs need money and what clubs just like to hang out.” Clubs that host events need an account for funding. However, there are clubs on campus that can be classified as interest groups (such as those based around discussion or eating food) and don’t require accounts. ASG has been focusing specifically on establishing this division. After discussing an issue, ASG takes into account all their members’ opinions. In order for a final conclusion to be reached regarding the constitution, two-thirds of the ASG class must agree on the motion. Then, it must be ratified by Student Congress to finally be sent to the administration for final approval. While ASG has been hard at work making these revisions, they predict that completions won’t be finished for at least another month. “We are just getting started and have so much more room for improvement. There are limitless possibilities for changes,” Kawaguchi said.